Suffering is a constant presence in “Sonny Blues.” Suffering, as the main character passionately argues, is “inescapable.” From the death of the narrator’s daughter to the cold blooded death of his uncle. Suffering dominates, and is symbolized, throughout the story. It does not only affect the main character, but others in his presence. Through music, drug use, death of the family members and through character relationships, the theme of suffering is expressed in the short story, “Sonny’s Blues.”
The first passage reveals the parallel suffering occurring in the lives of different members of the family, which emphasizes the echoes between the sufferings of the father and the narrator. The narrator’s father’s despair over having watched his brother die and not being able to save his brother reveals his guilt and sadness.
“ Oh, yes, your daddy had a brother.” She looked out of the window again. “I know you never saw your daddy cry. But I did-many a times, through all these years…” (Baldwin, Sonny's Blues 131-133). The narrator could relate to it, as he felt the same guilt and sadness for not being able to help his brother with his drug addiction and was worried if Sonny were to experience a similar fate as his father’s brother. The death of the brother traumatizes the narrator’s father, which made him think that each and every white American was responsible for his brother’s death “Oh, yes. Your daddy never did really get right again. Till the day he died he weren’t sure but that every white man he saw was the man that killed his brother” (Baldwin, Sonny's Blues 133).
Narrator’s father was consumed with remorse and despair that led him to drink himself to an early death.
Suffering has been symbolized by darkness, which is inevitable and inescapable. “He says he never in his life seen anything as dark as that road after the lights of that car had gone away…” (Baldwin 132-133). The darkness haunts the narrator’s father till the very end. The father confronted the harsh realities of life, which made him suffer immensely. In one moment, he sees the headlights of the car and in the next moment, he witnesses immeasurable darkness. Darkness represents the cruel realities of life they’re surrounded by which consists of drugs, violence and poverty. Sonny’s addiction to heroin is a way to cope with his suffering, which has been symbolized by darkness one cannot escape. Thus, the narrator’s father dealt with the same struggle that the narrator and Sonny are facing now. The narrator wants to protect his brother from the darkness of the world that has always threatened to invade their lives but he fails to do so as he is torn by his emotions, which shift quickly from love to hate and he is also unable to express his emotions, feelings and concern towards Sonny.
The second passage displays the suffering of Isabel and her mother due to Sonny’s presence and love for music. “Isabel finally confessed that it wasn’t like living with a person at all, it was like living with sound. And the sound didn’t make any sense to her, didn’t make any sense to any of them…. (Baldwin, Sonny's Blues 137). The music which was the only thing that brought Sonny joy started to afflict Isabel and her family, which caused damage between the relationship of her family and Sonny. Instead of going to school, Sonny had been going to a white girl’s
apartment in Greenwich Village, with musicians and other characters, which scared Isabel’s mother and made her scream at Sonny. . “And she finally got out of him that he’d been down in Greenwich Village, with musicians and other characters in a white girl’s apartment. And this scared her and she started to scream at him…” (Baldwin, Sonny's Blues 138).
The music, which was life or death for Sonny, had been torture for them. However, they understood that the piano and the music are of the utmost importance to him. Music had become an integral part of Sonny’s life and he did not care or bother to understand how it was causing pain or trouble to other people living in the same house as him. “Isabel says she did her best to be calm but she broke down and started crying. She says she just watched Sonny’s face. She could tell, by watching him, what was happening with him. And what was happening was that they penetrated his cloud, they had reached him…” (Baldwin, Sonny's Blues 138). Isabel tried to provide a pleasant and safe environment for Sonny. The family had made a lot of sacrifices to give Sonny a decent home, which he did not appreciate very much because he realized that they took him in out of obligation rather than tenderness. But, the family did not express their feelings and emotions in-front of him, as he was narrator’s younger brother. They were worried about Sonny, which he does not realize because his only concern is his music. Therefore, the conflict between Sonny and Isabel’s family make him leave the house and make him go far as away as possible where he can play his music and practice peacefully. “And she knew for certain that he was gone. And he was. He went as far as the navy would carry him…” (Baldwin, Sonny's Blues 138)
The third passage reveals the depth of suffering Isabel experiences due to the loss of the narrator and Isabel’s daughter, Grace. Witnessing the agonizing death of their daughter Grace left a huge and traumatic impact on Isabel. She was deeply wounded by the death of her daughter, which made her wake up often screaming at night “…Isabel will sometimes wake me up with a low moaning, strangled sound and I have to be quick to awaken her and hold her to me and where Isabel is weeping against me seems a mortal wound…” (Baldwin, Sonny's Blues 139). Isabel was unable to deal with the loss of her daughter and it brought her a lot of misery and pain. A closer inspection of Grace’s death reveals the symbolic and paradoxical elements of the story that underlie it and serve to illuminate the tension and reconciliation between the two brothers, the narrator and Sonny. Therefore, the fall of Grace was one of the most significant deaths in the short story, “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin.
In conclusion, the above passages do signify that suffering does not only affect one individual, but all the others in Sonny’s presence. Suffering has the ability to understand and feel real compassion for one another and, empathize with each other. For example, the suffering of the father made the mother bear the tragedy as if it were her own. Suffering can bring people closer and create stronger and positive relationships, which can be seen in the story. It is unavoidable and inescapable, as the main character argues, but one will have to live through the darkness to see the bright side. Although Sonny’s drug addiction had caused a lot of suffering and darkness to the narrator and his family members, the family members help one another by sharing their strengths and helping each character cope up with their suffering. And, therefore, “Sonny’s Blues” revolves around the themes of suffering and triumph.
“For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness.”
― James Baldwin, Sonny's Blues